Criticising MIM for being insensitive towards popular icons of Maharashtra – Shivaji Maharaj, Balasaheb Thackeray and Gopinath Munde, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana said, the party should think of ways in which it can join the mainstream. Continuing it’s vitriolic, the editorial says, MIM should first stop opposing ‘Vande Mataram’ and demolish the illegal masjids and then protest the memorials of these icons on government lands.
The Shiv Sena further said people cannot trust MIM leader Owaisi as the first thing he did after coming in Maharasthra was visiting the tomb of Aurangzeb or Afzal Khan, two of the greatest enemies of Shivaji Maharaj. The paper also highlighted that subsidies given for Haj pilgrimage was digging into state coffers and called for first stopping that. The MIM had earlier said instead of making memorials of these leaders, the funds should be utilised for building hospitals on government lands so that more and more people are benefited from it.